There must have been moments when Dave Kilcoyne doubted he would ever get a decent run at the Ireland No.1 jersey.
For the past three seasons, Irish rug by fans took it as given that the loose-head position would be a choice of Jack McGrath or Cian Healy. Leinster man or Leinster man. Clontarf or St. Mary’s.
Dave Kilcoyne kept plugging away, however, and the hard work is starting to pay off. He is not in pole position yet but his training ground work and his performances for Munster, and now Ireland, are giving him the best possible chance.
Kilcoyne sat down with The Hard Yards ahead of the league run of Leinster-Ulster-Connacht to discuss [from 1:00 below] those international chances, his own form and Munster pushing on from their close calls in two competitions last season. ‘Killer’ also spoke well about the influence his parents, Pat and Pauline, had on him as a young man and as a rugby player.
Pat Kilcoyne, Dave’s father, was a loose-head prop when he won a Munster Schools Junior Cup medal with St. Munchin’s. It was the school that Kilcoyne and his brothers attended, and played for, before heading on to Ardscoil Rís.
“My Dad was the big influence all the way through my career,” Kilcoyne began.
“He would have dropped me out to [U.L] Bohs at 8 o’clock on Saturday mornings and came to all my games. And right the way up, he still goes to all my games. He’s on the gravy train, as he says, with every game he gets to go to. My mum and dad thoroughly enjoy it.”
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Kilcoyne only featured as a sub against Canada in the 2016 November internationals and missed all of the 2017 Six Nations. His door back in to the Irish team arrived when McGrath was selected to go on the Lions Tour to New Zealand.
Joe Schmidt went with Healy as starter for the three tour games in America and Japan and normal, Leinster service was expected to resume for the November visits of South Africa and Argentina. Schmidt went with Healy and Kilcoyne, though, and it drove home how very few Ireland internationals are ever guaranteed a starting berth during his tenure.
For Kilcoyne, his recent return to the international fold – featuring in five of Ireland’s last six Tests – has meant a lot to him, and his family. He commented:
“I’d gotten a phone call before and my Dad, it was around the time that he had actually lost his job. And I remember him telling me that he’s never, ever show weakness. I’ve never seen him get emotional. He’s a real buzzer, as we always say. Always in top form.
“He never really let me know until recently how much that [job loss] hurt him. He was in a low place for a couple of weeks.
“But he just said that it really meant something to him, me getting back in there [with Ireland]. He was overawed to get back in there and get in amongst the Irish scene [at games]. He was just delighted for me – that I had just worked my way back in there – and that is what he was most proud of.”
Kilcoyne describes his parents and his two brothers as his “rock” and that family bond is clear. His face lights up as he shares stories about them.
Munster are in decent shape for another tilt at two competitions this season and Kilcoyne has been in fine form. The province comes first over the next few weeks but the next Six Nations championship is not far away at all. Keep up the hard work and maintain that form and Kilcoyne could feature heavily in the next run of Ireland games.
Pat Kilcoyne and his family will be there for Dave regardless but the Munster prop is hoping to repay their faith some more.
“As long as I can keep my father on the gravy train, he’ll be happy out, so I’ve got to keep playing.”
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